me and you {tordmatt}

four

matt held tord's hand as he dragged the norwegian the opposite way of the bus stop. tord was oblivious; he stumbled along after matt while, in his other hand, he held a book, reading it and walking simultaneously.

five minutes passed and tord grew confused. he looked up, eyes widening. "matt?"

"yes?"

"where are we going?"

"i wanted to get a slushee."

"why didn't you tell me before..?" tord frowned.

"i wanted you to come with me," matt smiled over his shoulder at him. "and i also have to show you something neat."

tord hesitated, deciding he could either run or stay with matt. he chose staying. his dad came home late at night and left early in the morning, anyway. and his mom was...

it's not like it'd matter.

"okay." tord nodded. "wait." he let go of matt's hand reluctantly and kneeled down, putting the book away. he stood up again. "done."

"let's go, then!" matt began running off to a nearby convenience store. tord followed him, tripping a few times as he ran.

as they reached it, matt pushed open the door, instantly getting hit by a blast of cold air. tord walked in after him and shivered, pulling his hoodie sleeves further down.

matt hummed and went over to one of the aisles, grabbing a packet of graham crackers.

"you like those?" tord asked quietly.

"they're not for me. you'll see." matt winked.

tord already felt the beginnings of a blush reach his face. suddenly the store didn't seem so cold. "i- i'm gonna get candy." he turned on his heel and speed-walked away.

ten minutes passed, and they were done. matt had gotten a coca-cola and cherry slushee and the graham crackers. tord bought gummy bears and a bottle of water.

"now, i have to show you something," matt grinned as he started to walk behind the store building. "follow me."

tord uneasily followed. "okay."

behind the store was a small, fenced in dirt area, some patches of grass trying to grow, too. dumpsters were up against the store wall. a tree grew at the corner of the space, a box placed next to it.

matt strolled over to the box and kneeled down. tord stood over him, looking into it and gasping. he stumbled backwards and fell on his rear.

a small, brown tabby kitten was in the box, curled up on a knitted purple blanket and sleeping peacefully.

matt sipped from his slushee and looked at tord. "what?" he tilted his head.

tord blinked in surprise. his water bottle rolled away, the pack of gummy bears on the floor.. "i.. i didn't expect it," he stuttered. "s- sorry."

the kitten woke up, yawning and revealing it's thorn-like teeth. matt giggled. "it's alright," he put his slushee down and ripped open the pack of crackers. "this is my sort-of pet cat. her name is mocha."

tord hesitantly kneeled beside matt and looked at her with wide eyes. "does she have a mom?" he asked quietly.

"i think so," matt looked around. there was no sign of another cat. "she kind of comes and goes. i've only seen her once."

the norwegian teen nodded. he watched as mocha crunched on the piece of graham cracker matt had offered her, her fluffy tail swaying.

"when did you find her?"

"my first week here. i waited to tell you, though," matt gave tord a bright smile. "she's just the cutest." he rubbed behind mocha's ear, a purr rising from her throat.

tord couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. he shook away the feeling and asked, "why don't you take her home?"

"my mom's allergic to cats and my dad hates them, even though he's barely home." matt sighed. he brightened up again as she nipped his fingers. "but that's fine. at least i get to visit her here, right?"

"..yeah." tord got to his feet and picked up the things he'd bought. "can we go?"

matt got up as well. "sure! bye, mocha!" he waved at the cat and left the leftover crackers in the box with her, grabbing his slushee.

the two boys walked back in the direction of their houses together, tord reading while matt chattered away.